Chairs



April 10, 1962 wqw. GOOD 3,029,108

CHAIRS Filed March 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INV EN TOR.

- W0 02 Wfiaoo ATTORNEY.

April 10, 1962 w. w. GOOD 3,029,108

CHAIRS Filed March 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

W0 02 W. 6000 BY ATTOR NEY.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,929,163 IPatented Apr. 10, 1962 3,029,108CHAIRS Wayne W. Good, Sturgis, Mich, assignor to Harter Corporation,Sturgis, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 21, 1958, Ser. No.723,028 6 Claims. (Cl. 297-420) This invention relates to chairs of thenon-adjustable type. The main objects of this invention are,

First, to provide a chair which may be formed of relatively light stockand still be very strong and rigid.

Second, to provide a chair structure having these advantages invwhichseat and back and arm supporting parts are assembled as a unitarystructure, permitting relatively wide variation in the details of theseat and back and particularly the upholstering thereof.

Third, to provide a chair structure having these advantages which may beproduced very economically.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appearfrom the description to follow. The invention is defined and pointed outin the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a chair embodying my invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the assembled frame unit.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section on a linecorresponding to line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view partially in section on a linecorresponding to line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a view through the arm and the supporting side bar therefor ona line corresponding to line 6-6 of FIG. 2, upholstery being omitted.

The embodiment of my invention illustrated is primarily designed as anoiiice chair, although adapted for various uses. The chair of myinvention includes a frame assembly illustrated in FIG. 3 which viewalso includes a seat bottom plate. The laterally spaced pairs of frontand rear legs 1 and 2 are disposed in upwardly converging relation.Their upper ends are connected by the flat side bars 3 which aredisposed on the upper ends of the legs and fixedly secured theretodesirably by the welds 4. The rear legs are preferably inclined at asubstantially greater angle to the side members than the front legswhich are disposed at approximately a right angle thereto so that thelower ends of the rear legs are positioned a substantial distancerearwardly of the seat and back, which arrangement results in stability,that is, the chair is not easily tilted rearwardly.

The legs are connected by the cross pieces 5 which are disposed on theinner sides thereof and desirably secured thereto by welding, the weldsnot being indicated: In production the welds are made as inconspicuousas it is practical and'at the same time secure a strong connection forthe parts. The cross bars 5 are connected by the tie bars 6 which aredisposed so that their upper surfaces are substantially flush with thetops of the cross bars and are fixedly secured to the cross bars as bywelds indicated at 2-. a

The side bars 3 are provided with longitudinally spaced holes 8 whilethe tie bars 6 are provided with longitudinally spaced holes 9, theseholes being adapted to receive fasteners for the arm members and theseat respectively.

The seat, designated generally by the numeral 10, is provided with abottom plate 11 which is secured to the tie bars 6 by bolts 12. Themanner of attaching the upholstery to this bottom plate is notillustrated but it will be understood that it is desirably mountedthereon so as to form an assembled unit therewith, although it may be inthe form of a cushion superimposed upon the bottom plate 11. However,for office and like use, it is desirable that the upholstery be fixedlyconnected to the supporting or bottom plate 11.

The arm members 13 are desirably formed of wood and are superimposedupon the side bars 3, being preferably recessed at 14 to receive thesame, see FIG. 6. These arm members are secured to the side bars bymeans of bolts 15 disposed through the holes 8 in the side bars, theupper edges of the arm members having vertical recesses 16 thereinadapted to receive the cup-shaped nuts 1'7, see FIG. 3.

The back, designated generally by the numeral 18, comprises sideuprights 19 connected by the top, bottom, and intermediate cross piecesZll, 21 and 22 respectively, see FIG. 2. The back is provided withupholstery 23 which includes a rear panel 24 disposed on the rear sideof the frame and detachably secured thereto as by the screws indicatedat 25, see FIG. 5. The back is supportedly mounted on the arms by meansof the vertically spaced pairs of bolts 26 which are desirably threadedfrom end to end and have flattened or disk-like heads 27 threaded upontheir outer ends and seated in the recesses or countersinks 28 providedtherefor, see FIG. 5. These back supporting bolts are clamped upon thearms by means of the nuts 29 threaded upon the bolts in clampingengagement with the washers 30. The arm uprights are disposed on thebolts, Washers 31 being disposed between the nuts 29 and the backuprights. The bolts are arranged through the supporting plates 32disposed on the inner sides of the arm uprights and secured thereto byscrews 33. Bolts project through these reinforcing plates and aresecured by the nuts 34. This provides a strong and rigid connection forthe back to the arms and at the same time one which is inconspicuous.

The arm member coverings 35 in the embodiment illustrated are conformedto the arm members, but it will be understood that suitable padding orcushioning may be provided if desired. The rear portion 24 of the backis desirably made detachable so that it can be positioned after the backhas been mounted and it efifectively conceals the back attaching means.a

The legs and the cross bars are desirably formed of tubular stock whichcontributes to lightness and at the same time the legs may be shaped tosecure a graceful appearance as is illustrated in FIG. 1. The legs aredesirably provided with foot pieces 36 of the tiltable anti-slip type.The assembling of the legs, side bars, cross bars and tie bars as anintegral unit results not only in a rigid structure of comparativelylight stock, but as stated it permits a wide variation in the matter ofupholstery. The seat bottom plate when secured to the tie members alsoserves as a bracing or strut element to assist racking stresses on theseveral parts at their points of connection, and this furthercontributes to the end that these frame parts may be made of relativelylight stock.

I have illustrated and described my invention in a highly practicalembodiment thereof. I have not attempted to illustrate or describe thevarious adaptations particularly from the upholstery angle, as it isbelieved that this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art toembody or adapt my invention as may be desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A chair comprising laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto with the front and rear ends of theside bars projecting substantially beyond the front and rear legsrespectively, front and rear cross bars disposed between the front andrear legs in downwardly spaced relation to said side bars with theirends in abutting relation to the inner sides of the legs and rigidlyattached thereto, tie bars for said cross bars disposed adjacent theends thereof with their upper surfaces substantially flush with theupper edges of the cross bars and rigidly attached thereto, said sidebars and said tie bars having fastener receiving openings therein spacedlongitudinally thereof, a seat including a bottom plate superimposedupon said cross and tie bars and secured thereto by fasteners en gagedin said openings in said tie bars, bar-like arm members superimposedupon and recessed to receive said side bars and secured thereto byfastener elements arranged through said holes therein, a back disposedbetween the rear ends of said arm members and comprising connected sideuprights, vertically spaced pairs of bolts disposed horizontally throughsaid arm members and provided with heads at their outer ends, clampingnuts threaded upon said bolts at the inner sides of said arm members forsecuring the bolts thereto, said bolts being disposed through said backuprights, and nuts for securing said back uprights to said boltsdisposed on the inner sides of the uprights.

2. A chair comprising laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto with the front and rear ends of theside bars projecting substantially beyond the front and rear legsrespectively, front and rear cross bars disposed between the front andrear legs in downwardly spaced relation to said side bars with theirends rigidly attached thereto, tie bars for said cross bars disposedadjacent the ends thereof and rigidly attached thereto, said side barsand said tie bars having fastener receiving openings therein spacedlongitudinally thereof, a seat including a bottom plate superimposedupon said cross bars and secured thereto by fasteners engaged in saidopenings in said tie bars, bar-like arm members superimposed upon saidside bars and secured thereto by fastener elements arranged through saidholes therein, a back disposed between the rear ends of said arm membersand comprising connected side uprights, bolts disposed horizontallythrough said arm members and provided with heads at their outer ends,clamping nuts threaded upon said bolts at the inner sides of said armmembers for securing the bolts thereto, said bolts being disposedthrough said back uprights, and nuts for securing said back uprights tosaid bolts disposed on the inner sides of the uprights.

3. A chair comprising laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto with the front and rear ends of theside bars projecting substantially beyond the front and rear legsrespectively, front andrear cross bars disposed between the front andrear legs in downwardly spaced relation to said side bars with theirends in abutting relation to the inner sides of the legs and rigidlyattached thereto, tie bars for said cross bars disposed adjacent theends thereof with their upper surfaces substantially flush with theupper edges of the cross bars and rigidly attached thereto, said sidebars and said tie bars having fastener receiving openings therein spacedlongitudinally thereof, a seat including a bottom plate superimposedupon said cross and tie bars and secured thereto by fasteners engaged insaid openings in said tie bars, bar-like arm members superimposed uponsaid side bars and secured by fastener elements arranged through saidholes therein,

and a back disposed between and supportedly mounted on the rear ends ofsaid arm members.

4. A chaircomprising laterally spaced pairs of front. and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto with the front and rear ends of theside bars projecting substantially beyond the front and rear legsrespectively, front and rear cross bars disposed between the front andrear legs in downwardly spaced relation to said side bars with theirends rigidly attached thereto, tie bars for said cross bars disposedadjacent the ends thereof and rigidly attached thereto, said side barsand said tie bars having fastener receiving openings therein spacedlongitudinally thereof, a seat including a bottom plate superimposedupon said cross bars and secured thereto by fasteners engaged in saidopenings in said tie bars, bar-like arm members superimposed upon saidside bars and secured by fastener elements arranged through said holestherein, and a back disposed between and supportedly mounted on the rearends of said arm members.

5. A chair comprising laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto, front and rear cross bars disposedbetween the front and rear legs in downwardly spaced relation to saidside bars and rigidly attached to the legs, laterally spaced tie barsfor said cross bars, a seat including a bottom plate superimposed uponsaid cross and tie bars and secured thereto by fasteners disposedthrough said tie bars, bar-like arm members superimposed upon said sidebars and secured thereto by fastener disposed through said side bars, aback disposed between the rear ends of said arm members, and bolt meanscarried by said arms for supportedly mounting said back thereon.

6. A chair comprising laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legsdisposed in upwardly converging relation with their upper endssubstantially spaced, side bars superimposed upon the upper ends of thelegs and rigidly attached thereto, front and rear cross bars disposedbetween the front and rear legs in downwardly spaced relation to saidside bars and rigidly attached to the legs, laterally spaced tie barsfor said cross bars rigidly connected thereto, a seat supportedlymounted on said cross and tie bars, bar-like arm members mounted uponsaid side bars and rigidly attached thereto by fasteners spacedlongitudinally of said side bars and said arm members and disposedvertically relative thereto, the upper ends of said fastener membersbeing countersunk in said arm members, and a back disposed between andsupportedly mounted on the rear ends of said arm members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.153,333 Arano Apr. 12, 1949 D. 182,428 McCarthy Apr. 1, 1958 1,391,362Bickel Sept. 20, 1921 2,388,552 Korte Nov. 6, 1945 2,578,397 Brown Dec.11, 1951 2,683,483 Shepherdson July 13, 1954 2,789,623 Lisi Apr. 23,1957 2,806,515 Burst Sept. 17, 1957 2,825,394 Hamilton Mar. 4, 1958FOREIGN PATENTS 83,280 Switzerland Nov. 17, 1919 599,980 Great BritainMar. 25, 1948

